Application Knowledge Assessment Comprehension V

EVALUATION

Evaluation questions are intended to require students to use the implicit cognitive process of making judgments about what they read or heard. We all tend to evaluate many things we encounter. " I like the looks of that new car." "This television set is unreliable." "He is a bore." Evaluation questions are intended to require students to manifest their judgment-making process by (a) clearly identifying a judgment, and (b) clearly and logically supporting the rationale for that judgement based on information they read or heard. Students should be able, is they say, "That book was great," to support that judgement by clearly explaining their definition of great, and then how specific information they read or heard substantiates that judgment. Their evaluation is not adequate if they are able to make a judgment but not support it, even when asked. For instance, they may say, "I don't know why I think the book is great, it just is, that's all." The two types of evaluation, objective and subjective, are based on different criteria; one that is internal to the selection read or information heard, and the other that is external to it. Evaluation-objective is based on internal criteria and evaluation-subjective is based on external criteria.

The Assessment Tasks illustrated here are for reading comprehension of two selections written at a fifth-grade level of difficulty. One selection has a narrative discourse structure (literature) and the other an expository discourse structure (science).

EVALUATION-OBJECTIVE

Evaluation-objective questions involve a criterion that is internal to what students read or heard. It focuses on how well a certain judgment can be rationally and explicit supported by information presented in a selection or lecture. Evaluation-objective is a dispassionate judgment that the information supports or does not support a specific judgment. For instance, these questions ask for an objective evaluation of a selection students read. Based on the facts in the story, was it reasonable for Mr Linnehan to go to California? Why do you say that? The questions elicit both a judgment statement (Was it reasonable?) and a substantiation of that judgment. (Why do you say that?). Students should be able to use information presented in a selection to clearly identify a judgement about whether Mr. Linnehan's action was reasonable, and then to clearly and rationally support whatever judgement they made in terms of information in the selection.

EVALUATION-SUBJECTIVE

Subjective evaluation uses the personal (subjective) feelings of the evaluator. It uses as a criterion some personal bias, belief or preferences of the person. These personal feelings are external to the selection read or information heard. For instance, this question asks for a subjective evaluation: Do you think it fair to the family for Mr. Linnehan to go to California? Why do you say that? The question asks for both a judgement (Do you think it was fair...?) and a substantiation of that judgement (Why do you say that?). If two people have quite different feelings about what constitutes fair on the part of the head of the family, they will give different answers to the question. Each judgment may be equally correct, but their explanation of their judgments will be quite different. The adequacy of their answers will depend on how logically and explicitly they support their judgments.